Ipswich Match Thread

[Marc]

Willock starts

[robindubois]

Looks close to the best we can field today

Just a pity about Colback not being fully fit to start but expect him on for Dozzell at half time.

Willock starts - great imo - but how long will he last? - hopefully at least an hour before he goes off with cramp!

Chair starts - great - no immediate transfer expected then

Dykes and Archer both out - expected - will Kolli get some game time if Armstrong tires

No Kelman - so is he off or just out of the picture after 45 minutes at Watford.

After thought - if Dykes had been fit who from that line up would have been left on the bench?

[Lonegunmen]

And Dozy still gets a start.

[kilburnhoop]

Ainsworth home record since taking charge P9 W1 D1 L7 GF 3 GA 14, astonishing how this man still has his job.

[londonranger]

We lost 0-1

[Macmoish]

Last won at Loftus Road in March vs Watford
Before that: Previous Home Win in October vs Wigan

[Lonegunmen]

Aug 19, 2023 16:01:12 GMT kilburnhoop said:

Aiansworth home record since taking charge P9 W1 D1 L7 GF 3 GA 14, astonishing how this man still has his job.

"Fortress Loftus Road".

[spanishal]

Promising first half, unlucky not to score thru Armstrong. Second half faded alarmingly, particularly when he went off. Once again it was Smyth who was Rs best player, seemed to have double the energy of everybody else. Still look a pretty unfit side to me.

[rickyqpr]

Went to the game.
I thought it was a very good game that we were extremely unluck to lose.
Lots of positives, and good to hear on the way home that the injuries to Armstrong and Field are not serious - Armstrong was just cramp.
We have real excitement in Armstrong and Kolli - and Chair was so unlucky when he tried to lob the keeper.
When Armstrong's shot hit both posts and came out, you knew it was not our day.
Ipswich are running on a cloud of arrogance and confidence. We could so easily have beaten them - their run will end soon. They were ok and well drilled.
But we should have gone in ahead at the break.
Colback when fit will replace Dozzell - he got 45 minutes today.
Pleased to see Willock put in a shift as well.
Although we lost, I came home feeling better about the team than at the start of the game.
We just need greater depth to the squad.
If Chair leaves, I hope we can sign a striker, a right back and a central midfield player.
Decent cameos from: Kolli, Dukes Mckenna and Dixon-Bonner.
But I thought Richards looked very overwight and slow - just in the warmup.

[kenthoop]

another game we did not deserve to lose , excited by some of the younger players who are getting some game time , I think there is a bright future ahead for QPR football club if these players keep progressing , my main concern is why we seem to struggle fitness wise about three quarters of the way through the match if anyone has any ideas as to why perhaps you could enlighten me because I would love to know what other people think

[Macmoish]

The Ipswich goal

[Macmoish]

And the miss

[robindubois]

Good performance overall and good to see some young players making a contribution.......but

If we want to win we have to score and when players miss chances such as Kakay's we will struggle.

Once Armstrong and then Field went off the writing was on the wall. If we want the high intensity football the players have to be a bit fitter and able to last the whole 90/100 minutes and not just an hour.

[kerrins]

I was at the game.

We did have 2 or 3 good chances to score but sadly none of these were taken. However it is no use playing with one up front alone without any support and just hoofing the ball up field.

The Ipswich forwards were superior to ours. They were mostly about pass and move. They had easily more than twice as many shots as us although not all on target. Also the possession stats were well in their favour.

Make no mistake with this current squad and set up we will have a huge problem scoring goals.

[rickyqpr]

Aug 21, 2023 8:11:01 GMT kerrins said:

I was at the game.

We did have 2 or 3 good chances to score but sadly none of these were taken. However it is no use playing with one up front alone without any support and just hoofing the ball up field.

The Ipswich forwards were superior to ours. They were mostly about pass and move. They had easily more than twice as many shots as us although not all on target. Also the possession stats were well in their favour.

Make no mistake with this current squad and set up we will have a huge problem scoring goals.

I thought in the first half, Ipswich performed like a team who just expected to win, just by turning up. I think both Cardiff and Ipswich underestimated QPR.
That is not surprising because Ainsworth keeps setting expectations so low, every pundit has us as relegated, and we were beyond dreadful at Watford.
But Ipswich are a team that can't stop winning.  They reminded me of QPR under Beale. We somehow won games that we had no right to, and the confidence carried us through.
We are at the other end of the spectrum, sadly. But I thought there was a lot to be enthused about on Saturday.
Goals change games, and we could not have come closer without scoring.
We looked pretty fit for an hour, and in Smyth and Sinclair we always had an out channel.
It is probably that we simply are not fit enough, but when Armstrong departed, and Field tried unsuccessfully to assassinate an Ipswich player, and was then crocked, the belief and stamina drained out of the team.
This may be psychological. Or it may be that when we concede a goal, it really is game over.
Conceding so early at Watford was crucial. we lost in 36 seconds. However, Ainsworth also got everything wrong that day anyway. No idea why he set up the way he did and then did nothing about it.
But I felt sorry for Kolli on Saturday. He came on and chased after defenders, only to look around and realise he was the only one doing it. He was so isolated. I think he is a real talent, but that was tough on him.
Instead we dropped deep and the goal was coming long before they got a fortune rub of the green.
I do not worry too much about possession stats. QPR in the past, have had some wonderful possession with Dickie, Dieng and Dunne passing around in our own half.
But I did think we were unlucky not to score and be leading at half time.
But the players we have got need to be able to last 100 minutes, and the bench needs to contain worthier substitutes for our injuries.
I thought that as Colback and Dozzell dropped deeper, and Smyth tired, Ainsworth missed a trick leaving Dukes-Mckenna on the bench until it was too late.
We are also a tiny team. Smyth, Chair, Dukes-McKenna, and Kolii, not the tallest of players. Richards is bigger - round the waist.

[robindubois]

Aug 21, 2023 10:03:13 GMT rickyqpr said:

Aug 21, 2023 8:11:01 GMT kerrins said:

I was at the game.

We did have 2 or 3 good chances to score but sadly none of these were taken. However it is no use playing with one up front alone without any support and just hoofing the ball up field.

The Ipswich forwards were superior to ours. They were mostly about pass and move. They had easily more than twice as many shots as us although not all on target. Also the possession stats were well in their favour.

Make no mistake with this current squad and set up we will have a huge problem scoring goals.

I thought in the first half, Ipswich performed like a team who just expected to win, just by turning up. I think both Cardiff and Ipswich underestimated QPR.
That is not surprising because Ainsworth keeps setting expectations so low, every pundit has us as relegated, and we were beyond dreadful at Watford.
But Ipswich are a team that can't stop winning.  They reminded me of QPR under Beale. We somehow won games that we had no right to, and the confidence carried us through.
We are at the other end of the spectrum, sadly. But I thought there was a lot to be enthused about on Saturday.
Goals change games, and we could not have come closer without scoring.
We looked pretty fit for an hour, and in Smyth and Sinclair we always had an out channel.
It is probably that we simply are not fit enough, but when Armstrong departed, and Field tried unsuccessfully to assassinate an Ipswich player, and was then crocked, the belief and stamina drained out of the team.
This may be psychological. Or it may be that when we concede a goal, it really is game over.
Conceding so early at Watford was crucial. we lost in 36 seconds. However, Ainsworth also got everything wrong that day anyway. No idea why he set up the way he did and then did nothing about it.
But I felt sorry for Kolli on Saturday. He came on and chased after defenders, only to look around and realise he was the only one doing it. He was so isolated. I think he is a real talent, but that was tough on him.
Instead we dropped deep and the goal was coming long before they got a fortune rub of the green.
I do not worry too much about possession stats. QPR in the past, have had some wonderful possession with Dickie, Dieng and Dunne passing around in our own half.
But I did think we were unlucky not to score and be leading at half time.
But the players we have got need to be able to last 100 minutes, and the bench needs to contain worthier substitutes for our injuries.
I thought that as Colback and Dozzell dropped deeper, and Smyth tired, Ainsworth missed a trick leaving Dukes-Mckenna on the bench until it was too late.
We are also a tiny team. Smyth, Chair, Dukes-McKenna, and Kolii, not the tallest of players. Richards is bigger - round the waist.

I was not at the match (Never can go) but feeds are better than nothing.
Agree 100% with Ricky on the above. If Armstrongs double post effort had gone in or even Kakay's miss of the century (to be fair the ball hit him more than him shooting but he should have scored anyway) we may well have gone on to win. Having said that I have a doubt if overall the team was fit enough to last the 100 minutes. As the game wore on we seemed to drop deeper and deeper and were defending not far off our 6 yard line for their goal so we are going to need to use the extra subs allowed to get through games.

Armstrong gets through lots of work chasing and pushing but if he cannot last more than 60 minutes we have a problem. aAt his age he should last longer or is he carrying a touch too much weight?

Willock being pulled at half time - apparently exhausted - was wise to avoid another injury but all round I have to ask if our new performance manager is adding anything to the squad other than churning out half fit players in desperation with injuries and the size of the squad.

Still hopeful we can pick up a couple of signings that will strengthen the squad and hope that a likely defeat at Southampton will not start the panic. Who knows we may be better playing away and hitting teams with fast breaks. One consolation (probably the wrong word) is seeing Everton in a worse mess than we are and with similar injury problems as us. Interestingly no Tim I. in the Villa squad again yesterday - doubt we can afford it but would welcome him back on loan.  

Edit - forgot to mention the long range effort that nearly got us the equaliser - I thought the keeper was no going to make it back. Brilliant vision and execution though but that and the Armstrong double post shot just shows when you are struggling luck never seems to go your way. 

[dan]

I’m a cross country/track coach by profession (that’s what I got my college scholarship in) but played way more football in my youth. The whole “we aren’t fit enough….” Talk really bothers me. I could easily run for 90-100 minutes back in my day. Easily. The soccer….er….. football coach would have my cross country guys scrimmage against them. We usually went down pretty early, but would always wear them down with our constant off the ball movement and we either “just” lost, tied, but usually won most games with faaaaar less skill.

Are these guys just soft now? Don’t want to do the training it takes to play a full professional match? Is proper conditioning not being emphasized anymore by the staff? What’s the issue? I watch the top teams out there and I notice one thing: constant movement. I think that is nothing revolutionary, just the basics.

So who’s at fault here? No team of mine would ever not be fit to play 90-100 minutes! Ever!

[kenthoop]

Aug 22, 2023 1:51:32 GMT dan said:

I’m a cross country/track coach by profession (that’s what I got my college scholarship in) but played way more football in my youth. The whole “we aren’t fit enough….” Talk really bothers me. I could easily run for 90-100 minutes back in my day. Easily. The soccer….er….. football coach would have my cross country guys scrimmage against them. We usually went down pretty early, but would always wear them down with our constant off the ball movement and we either “just” lost, tied, but usually won most games with faaaaar less skill.

Are these guys just soft now? Don’t want to do the training it takes to play a full professional match? Is proper conditioning not being emphasized anymore by the staff? What’s the issue? I watch the top teams out there and I notice one thing: constant movement. I think that is nothing revolutionary, just the basics.

So who’s at fault here? No team of mine would ever not be fit to play 90-100 minutes! Ever!

[robindubois]

Aug 22, 2023 1:51:32 GMT dan said:

I’m a cross country/track coach by profession (that’s what I got my college scholarship in) but played way more football in my youth. The whole “we aren’t fit enough….” Talk really bothers me. I could easily run for 90-100 minutes back in my day. Easily. The soccer….er….. football coach would have my cross country guys scrimmage against them. We usually went down pretty early, but would always wear them down with our constant off the ball movement and we either “just” lost, tied, but usually won most games with faaaaar less skill.

Are these guys just soft now? Don’t want to do the training it takes to play a full professional match? Is proper conditioning not being emphasized anymore by the staff? What’s the issue? I watch the top teams out there and I notice one thing: constant movement. I think that is nothing revolutionary, just the basics.

So who’s at fault here? No team of mine would ever not be fit to play 90-100 minutes! Ever!

While I said we did not look like we could last the 100 minutes it is maybe not as bad as that sounded. 

We had Bercovic, Fox, and Cook at the back - all joined after pre-season so maybe a week or two behind others in match fitness but have to play as other are all injured.

Likewise Willock coming back injury and not match fit, Colback with no pre-season then illness, were not supposed to last the whole game but were being eased back in.

We need a midfield dynamo and Dozzell is too light weight and will not survive a high intensity battle, then Field crocked himself taking out a player. Colback could be the man we need to take that on if his legs last. Armstrong is the only real mystery to me.

Still the same 3 weak spots though, striker central midfield and right back.

 

[rickyqpr]

Well we decided we needed a performance manager over and above what we had before. I do not think anyone has left the back-up team, it has just got bigger.
It always feels that we are carrying a bigger than necessary overhead, but what do I know.
But assuming this guy knows what he is doing, we opted for a pretty gentle pre-season and we have had to educate ourselves on things like 'loading'.
Because it is all about loading apparently.
We have been angry that some of our players do not put in a shift. Well we have a few who really give it a go now.
Armstrong, Smyth and Field put it about and so it is no surprise that they tire. Few players can do what they do for a full game, and then play twice a week.
We also have some oldies, who apart from the lack of pre-season mentioned by Robin, have not played competitively since March.
Begovic hardly played at all last season, Cook was left out of the Forest 25 in January and Fox picked up a late injury last term. Colback has been out since March.
What seems to happen after the hour is that we start to drop deeper and invite the opposition on.
That is when we need fresh legs - and we can use 5 subs now. Kolli was full of running, but he needed Dukes-McKenna to come on at the same time. Smyth was spent by then.
But tiny steps etc.
Meanwhile, I am increasingly encouraged by the Development squad. It seems now to be used to develop players rather than giving fringe players a run out.
As a consequence, quite a few players are starting to catch the eye.
Already covered Kolli making his league debut, but Steven Balla made the bench for the cup and yesterday he scored a Hatrick against Coventry.
Rafferty Pedder, although not looking sturdy enough, always gets a good review as a creative, Alex Aoraha has featured for the first team as a holding midfielder, and at the back Deon Woodman and Henry Hawkins were both flown out to the summer camp and give hope for the future.
Nathan Jeche has played the last two development games and scored the fourth goal against Coventry last night. He is the young 18-year-old forward who we had on trial from Maidstone in April. Obviously, back with us again, presumably a second trial, but two goals from two sub appearances is encouraging. He has several suitors it seems.
The academy takes a lot of stick at times, but I genuinely believe that if we can hang on in there, it could be worthwhile.

[robindubois]

Aug 22, 2023 10:04:32 GMT rickyqpr said:

Well we decided we needed a performance manager over and above what we had before. I do not think anyone has left the back-up team, it has just got bigger.
It always feels that we are carrying a bigger than necessary overhead, but what do I know.
But assuming this guy knows what he is doing, we opted for a pretty gentle pre-season and we have had to educate ourselves on things like 'loading'.
Because it is all about loading apparently.
We have been angry that some of our players do not put in a shift. Well we have a few who really give it a go now.
Armstrong, Smyth and Field put it about and so it is no surprise that they tire. Few players can do what they do for a full game, and then play twice a week.
We also have some oldies, who apart from the lack of pre-season mentioned by Robin, have not played competitively since March.
Begovic hardly played at all last season, Cook was left out of the Forest 25 in January and Fox picked up a late injury last term. Colback has been out since March.
What seems to happen after the hour is that we start to drop deeper and invite the opposition on.
That is when we need fresh legs - and we can use 5 subs now. Kolli was full of running, but he needed Dukes-McKenna to come on at the same time. Smyth was spent by then.
But tiny steps etc.
Meanwhile, I am increasingly encouraged by the Development squad. It seems now to be used to develop players rather than giving fringe players a run out.
As a consequence, quite a few players are starting to catch the eye.
Already covered Kolli making his league debut, but Steven Balla made the bench for the cup and yesterday he scored a Hatrick against Coventry.
Rafferty Pedder, although not looking sturdy enough, always gets a good review as a creative, Alex Aoraha has featured for the first team as a holding midfielder, and at the back Deon Woodman and Henry Hawkins were both flown out to the summer camp and give hope for the future.
Nathan Jeche has played the last two development games and scored the fourth goal against Coventry last night. He is the young 18-year-old forward who we had on trial from Maidstone in April. Obviously, back with us again, presumably a second trial, but two goals from two sub appearances is encouraging. He has several suitors it seems.
The academy takes a lot of stick at times, but I genuinely believe that if we can hang on in there, it could be worthwhile.

Agree we have some potential coming through as we saw when they held their own against an experienced Norwich team in the cup. We will only know when they get a chance to play so with our small squad and need for fresh legs as games now stretch to 100 minutes plus 3 time a week it is the perfect time to use them off the bench and freshen things up in the second half of games. Our double barrelled named mid fielders seem to be getting there along with Kolli. The disappointment so far is Richards - supposed to be a Willlock replacement when we signed him.